You are what you do

“You are what you eat”. Yes I’m sure we have all heard this before however need to be reminded.

Making the association from our aches and pains to what we are eating or doing daily is hard. With our ever changing body we forget to change our life and habits with it. Often I talk to those after yoga class who don’t understand why they have the pain they have. They approached me with the pain they had in class and want to simply modify the pose or stop doing that pose altogether as a solution. I often stop them there to discuss why the pain is happening; always happy to suggest modifications. Sometimes it could be improper form in the pose however in most cases it is external items they haven’t even thought of.

I spoke to someone recently who has had severe back pain for over 5 years and met with a lot of specialists and even considered operating. He said he examined his life and knew he hadn’t updated his mattress in over 15 years. He did this simple act, as he put it, and saw improvement. Think about how you spend your 7 to 9 hours sleeping and if it is uncomfortable. Now imagine getting a good nights sleep with your body and the state of mind you would have going forward. He described it as simple act however it wasn’t even suggested by the medical professionals he saw.

Then consider how you sit in the car, office and stand waiting in lines. In yoga class I often show how to “function in your life” off the mat so you can ease pain. We are all injured and I am happiest when I see someone improve the function of their body, reduce pain and stress, etc rather than focusing on mastering a pose or position.

Besides the physical changes that can be made, we often forget the foods that will help us. Berries and leafy greens help with anti-inflammatory issues. Ginger helps upset stomach or stomach-aches – either eaten from the ginger root or you can reach for Ginger Snaps or Ale. Salmon, Walnuts and other Omega 3 foods also have proven anti-inflammatory effects. I often suggest to those who have muscle soreness to take an epson salt bath and follow this with cold compress within the first 48 hours. Epson Salt isn’t expensive and works better than the heating pad with muscle soreness.

We are heading into the new year and many avoid movement or start off hard only to experience pain and then stop. We never stop to examine what is causing the pain. This also includes looking at our worklife, people we are around and how we are living this life. Change may have to be made and the body is just shooting out to please stop.